How can I force jQuery Validate to check for duplicate username in database?

Question

I\'m coming into the middle of this project so I\'m having to do a bit of re-writing because of sloppy code. I am using jQuery 1.6.1 and Validate 1.8.1.

First, here\

Answer 1

My code:

$( "#myform" ).validate({
  rules: {
    EMAIL: {
      remote: {
        type: "post",  
        url: "checkMail.php",           
        data:{checkUsername:function(){return $("#EMAIL").val()}            
        }
      }
    }
  },messages:{EMAIL:{remote: "Already taken!"}}
});